HOT SPERM

But seriously, picture this: 29 men balancing laptops on their knees while the temperatures of their testicles are measured with thermometers.

Bearing witness to such embarrassments is an occupational hazard of research urology, I suppose, as a New York study has found that using laptops can overheat men’s sperm, possibly leading to fertility problems.

“Millions and millions of men are using laptops now, especially those in the reproductive age range,” says Yelim Sheynkin, a urologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook who led the study. “Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don’t feel it.”

Previous research has found that warming the scrotum by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit “is enough to damage sperm.” Testes’ exterior placement keeps them cooler than the rest of the body, which is apparently “necessary for sperm production.”

Sheynkin’s study, published in Fertility And Sterility, suggests that using laptops could be problematic for men who are seeking to become fathers.

“No matter what you do, even with the legs spread wide apart, the temperature is still going to be higher than what we call safe,” Sheynkin tells Reuters.